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By rocking up the MGMT hit (http://bit.ly/4A7xLo) with full-throated vocals, electric-guitar solos, and a marked absence of keyboards, this Toronto-via-Thunder Bay band, along with Charlottetown singer Chaisson, reveals just how intricate the music really is. The fact that their arrangement also accommodates a banjo speaks volumes about both the musicians and the song. After you’ve digested this cover, here’s what PYT’s original stuff sounds like: http://bit.ly/134Bm4W; likewise for Chaisson: http://bit.ly/T3QOnc. (http://bit.ly/19r6H5x)

9. THE MELODIC

“On My Way”

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Listening to these early-twentysomethings, two of whom (Huw Williams and Rudi Schmidt) have been playing together since they were 16 — you’d never guess they live in London or, for that matter, any place with a population in triple figures. Though they’ve drawn the Mumford and Sons comparisons that cling to every U.K. band that plays acoustic instruments, they have more in common with the handclapping, ukulele-strumming Noah and the Whale (http://bit.ly/f183nz) — if that band had formed before the invention of electricity. (From On My Way, http://bit.ly/15zIkLn)

8. KATE BUSH VS. INXS

“Running Up Tonight”

The former’s “Running Up That Hill” (http://bit.ly/gxYCir) and the latter’s “Need You Tonight” (http://bit.ly/rcGLpK) came out in the same general era, which is to say within two years of each other. On the surface, that is the only thing they have in common. What allows those two pieces of music to merge into one is a certain intimate quality in the vocals and a disdain for the straightforward, downbeat-driven rhythm tracks that characterized much of the late-‘80s mainstream. (http://bit.ly/1aL4MGX)

7. FAT FREDDY’S DROP

“Drop Clean the House”

Adhering admirably to their a-new-album-ever-four-years schedule, one of New Zealand’s biggest homegrown acts (their debut, Based on a True Story, has gone seven times platinum there) is about to amble back into view with studio album No. 3. This preview is a little more Memphis than Jamaica, especially compared to their breakthrough single, “Wandering Eye” (http://bit.ly/fpw2dm), but the ongoing tug of war between the two sensibilities continues to give this band a distinctive edge. (From Blackbird, out July 2, http://bit.ly/14fHgx9)

6. TRAVIS

“Where You Stand”

What do you do if you’re one of those U.K. bands that have achieved a modicum of success but don’t want to go on churning out an album every couple of years to a diminishing audience? If you’re this Scottish band known for wistful fare such as “Driftwood” (http://bit.ly/9FCoIy), you spend five years putting out the obligatory live album, guesting on other people’s records, and letting your frontman explore a solo career, before returning as though nothing had changed. As this title track quietly demonstrates, there’s something to be said for that approach. (From Where You Stand, out Aug. 19, http://bit.ly/11V3vqT)

On which old lion Lloyd meets young lion Moran, and the two effortlessly leapfrog over a four-decade age difference to do justice (and then some) to the enduring Beach Boys ballad. The combination of tenor sax and piano turns out to be exceptionally well-suited to the refined ache at the heart of Brian Wilson’s melody. (From Hagar’s Song, http://bit.ly/10jk3KY)

3. RYAN GRANVILLE-MARTIN f. DANIELA GESUNDHEIT

“Welcome Honey”

As a drummer and producer, the Toronto-based Granville-Martin has worked with everyone from Daniel Lanois and Sarah Harmer to Mia Sheard and The Hidden Cameras. On his first solo album, he’s lined up a different singer for each song. Here it’s the luminous voice of Snowblink (http://bit.ly/aWXoX2), who weaves in and out of a shifting landscape of slide guitar, organ, and Rhodes piano with the grace of someone spinning slowly around an empty room. (From Mouthparts and Wings, http://bit.ly/14qAuV1)

2. WILCO

“The Boys Are Back in Town”

Just when you thought you could take Jeff Tweedy and Co. for granted, they storm back with a 27-song set consisting entirely of non-Wilco material. And we don’t mean they lurched through a verse and a half before giving up, a la the lovable Replacements of the early-‘80s. We’re talking 27 songs, played from beginning to end, complete with, in this case, a twin-guitar coda. Among the other highlights from their performance at this month’s Solid State Festival: Television’s epic “Marquee Moon,” a game ramble through Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” and “Color Me Impressed” with Tommy Stinson from the aforementioned (and newly reunited) Replacements doing his utmost to keep the spirit alive: (https://soundcloud.com/nyctaper)

The first anniversary of 2012’s album of the year, channel ORANGE, is upon us, and it’s encouraging to discover that Ocean — who’ll be part of Drake’s highly anticipated OVO Fest this summer (Aug. 4-5 in Toronto) — has been doing more than just thinking about the unenviable task of following it up. Though only one of the three new pieces (http://go.spin.com/14Y1HAS) he performed recently in Munich sounds as though it’s ready to be recorded, it’s rarely less than mesmerizing to watch him on stage, pacing, confessing, and otherwise working things out without a net.

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